Take two. The Rays will try to snap a two-game losing skid after falling to Chris Sale and the Red Sox, 4-2, last night. (Photo Credit: Anthony Ateek/X-Rays Spex)

After a 4-2 loss, in an injury marred contest against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Rays look to bounce back and snap a two-game losing skid on Wednesday night.

On the subject of injuries, the Rays made a pair of roster moves Wednesday, placing Jake Faria on the disabled list with a strained left oblique, and recalling LHP Vidal Nuno to take his place. Faria, like Jake Odorizzi who sustained a similar injury in 2015, could miss six-to-eight weeks based on the severity of the strain.

A corresponding 40-man move will need to be made to add Nuno, who is 3-1 with a 3.57 ERA in seven starts (eight appearances) at Durham. He has walked just three and struck out 37 across 40-1/3 innings. Nuno told Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) he is thankful to be back in the Major Leagues and excited to potentially face the Orioles, who he spent the 2017 season with.

Still the addition of Nuno, over rostered options like RHP Chih-Wei Hu, RHP Hunter Wood and RHP Andrew Kittredge (among others), is a bit surprising. In any case, he was likely chosen for his ability to work across multiple innings.

Nathan Eovaldi is slated to make one last tuneup start for Durham today. It is unclear how his return might impact Nuno’s stay with the team, if at all. It should be noted, Austin Pruitt has options remaining and could be optioned back to Durham instead of exposing Nuno to waivers should his stay be brief.

Tampa Bay will have eight right-handed hitters in the lineup tonight, with Wilson Ramos sitting out after suffering a bruised left hand. Ramos though isn’t expected to go on the DL.

The New What Next

Chris Archer (3-3, 5.01 ERA) will get the start for Tampa Bay, pitching opposite his friend and former teammate David Price (4-4, 4.38 ERA).

Chris Archer notched his third win of the season on Thursday against the Angels, throwing 6-2/3 shutout innings, and allowing just two hits while striking out five, but walking four. After getting tagged for six earned runs in his last start, Archer was able to bounce back with a strong outing — only his third quality start in his last four turns. Overall he still has been erratic, and sports an unsightly 5.01 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP through 59-1/3 innings. They say familiarity breeds contempt, and likewise Boston has owned Archer over his 20 career starts, pegging him with a 2-12 record and a 5.49.

David Price tossed his best outing of the season on Thursday, posting a complete game, two-run five-hit gem, against Baltimore. He struck out eight. The only runs that were charged to his line came on a ninth inning, two-out, two-run homer to Manny Machado, but the blast was not enough to ruin Price’s second consecutive strong effort, completed on an efficient 95 pitches (65 strikes, 68% strike rate). The southpaw recently copped to a bout with carpal tunnel syndrome, which comes as no surprise to anyone that follows Price and knows his proclivity for video games. The former Ray has had a tough time against his previous team, going 4-4 with a 3.47 ERA. Price is 37-30 with a 2.84 ERA in 90 career starts at Tropicana Field. Key Matchups: CJ Cron (5-18, 2 2B), Wilson Ramos (4-11, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB)

You can read about the series in our preview.

The New What Next: Rays vs Red Sox — a series preview, part four

Rays 5/23/18 Starting Lineup

Span LF
Cron 1B
Robertson DH
Duffy 3B
Adames SS
Field CF
Refsnyder RF
Arroyo 2B
Sucre C
Archer RHP

Noteworthiness

— Willy Adames, one of the players traded for Price in 2014, will face the southpaw in his second big league game. Adames told Solondz yesterday that he’s excited about the opportunity. The infielder became the fifth player in franchise history to homer in his first Major League game, joining former Ray Brandon Guyer (May 6, 2011, at Baltimore). He also became the first player to ever hit a homer in his first career game at Tropicana Field.

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